New Rule 8.3 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct (CRPC) provides that “ lawyer shall, without undue delay, inform the State Bar, or a tribunal with jurisdiction to investigate or act upon such misconduct, when the lawyer knows of…
BASF Celebrates Trailblazers and Innovators at In-House Counsel Awards
Last month, The Bar Association of San Francisco celebrated excellence and innovators in the world of in-house counsel at our In-House Counsel Awards. Hosted at the iconic and beautiful Ohana Room at the top of the Salesforce Tower, the awards…
Food From The Bar Provides More Than 900k Meals
People in San Francisco and Marin from all walks of life can find themselves food insecure for various reasons, with 1 in 5 residents at risk. According to the SF Marin Food Bank, there is a gap of 17.1 million…
Voluntary Payment Doctrine
As a business lawyer running my own small firm, I appreciate colleagues who introduce me to interesting and useful legal theories that I haven’t seen in my own practice. A few years ago, a friend introduced me to the common…
We Need to Talk About Your Special Interrogatories
This month, I’ve seen three sets of poorly written special interrogatories from different attorneys. These are not inexperienced, first year attorneys, but seasoned family law attorneys with an average of 15 years of experience. I get it, it’s easy to…
The Simple Elegance of a Semicolon
When you mean to suggest a close relationship between two separate statements, consider joining them with this highly effective punctuation mark. As we have discussed in this column, a comma may be used to combine two sentences into one. But…
The Justice & Diversity Center Welcomes AT&T Legal Services Fellow Christina Lin
As an undergraduate, Christina was interested in working in the legal profession. After completing her undergraduate work, Lin worked in the fashion and cosmetic industry. During this time, she began to witness a disconnect between management, who make all the…
The Justice & Diversity Center Volunteers Return to Serve Those in Greatest Need at Project Homeless Connect
On May 10, 2023, 18 volunteers from the Justice & Diversity Center gathered early in the morning at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to assist participants at the Project Homeless Connect (PHC) Community Day of Service. The gathering marks the…
Meet Tonya Saheli, BASF’s Associate Mediation Counsel
Typically when we’re introduced to other members of the BASF family, we get to see just one side of them: attorney, staff member, volunteer. Dig a little deeper, and we discover how extraordinary each person is, with unique skills, talents,…
Lawyers – You Can’t Discriminate
The California Rules of Professional Conduct (“CRPC”) included a new rule in 2018 that prohibits attorneys from participating in discrimination, harassment and retaliation in representing a client. It also prohibits discrimination in the law firm’s operations. Specifically, CRPC 8.4.1 provides:…
3 Reasons to Join Our Register of Experts
All of us have some type of expertise, even if we don’t use it in our everyday jobs. Sharing that expertise in The Bar Association of San Francisco’s (BASF) Register of Experts (ROE) can provide new opportunities professionally and financially.…
Considerations When Growing Your Solo or Small Law Firm
Solo and small law firms are subject to the same employment laws as any other type of employer. Consequently, when you grow your firm by adding attorneys and staff you need to pay attention to several considerations. First, will this…